- England’s watchdog is releasing recommendations to consumers on how to spot fake reviews
- Shoppers are reading some feedback to reveal dubious or vague reviews
- Three or four-star reviews are unlikely to be fake and are particularly useful
- Companies are banned from fake posts and hiding negative feedback since April last year
- The CMA is deploying new powers to tackle harmful practices
England’s watchdog is releasing recommendations to consumers on how to spot fake reviews as part of its crackdown on misleading online content. Shoppers are reading some feedback to reveal that many reviews sound dubious, overly vague or unrelated to the item. Three or four-star reviews are unlikely to be fake and are proving particularly useful while checking across multiple platforms is helping verification.
Companies in Britain are banned since April last year from posting fake reviews, paid-for reviews not clearly marked as incentivised or hiding negative feedback. Sarah Cardell is confirming fake reviews strike at consumer trust and the CMA is deploying new powers to tackle harmful practices. Being alert to AI-generated reviews that sound too slick is becoming more important.
Food delivery giant Just Eat is among five firms under investigation. The guidance is advising against relying solely on 5-star ratings without reading the actual comments.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA shared “Fake reviews strike at the heart of consumer trust – with many of us worrying about misleading content when looking at reviews online. With household budgets under pressure, people need to know they’re getting genuine information. We’ve given businesses the time to get things right. Now we’re deploying our new powers to tackle some of the most harmful practices head on.”
